


Cirque de Lune

by ChibisUnleashed, KamuiWithFangs, PanAndProud123



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Circus!AU, M/M, lmao the RotG Circus!AU nobody asked for but everyone got anyways
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibisUnleashed/pseuds/ChibisUnleashed, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KamuiWithFangs/pseuds/KamuiWithFangs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanAndProud123/pseuds/PanAndProud123
Summary: Come one, come all to Cirque de Lune, a circus like nothing you've ever seen!Featuring our acrobatic trio, the Flying Acrobats, our strongman and ringleader North, big as the yeti himself, Pitch Black the psychic, whose tarot cards will read your doom, and our magician, Sandy.Tickets are $15 for those 18 and up, and $10 for those under 18. We hope you'll have the time of your life!Warnings: Much violence in a few chapters (Chapter 4 for sure, let's see how the rest goes), hate crime against LGBTQ+ members mentioned as well as written out. Please do not read if these subjects are sensitive to you.
Relationships: Jack Frost/Pitch Black
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KamuiWithFangs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KamuiWithFangs/gifts), [ChibisUnleashed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibisUnleashed/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Circus!AU (Rise of the Guardians Halloween Event)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/734331) by Bunnimew. 



Jack watched as the spotlights dimmed, signaling the end of the show. He smiled gently and flew off of the tightrope to the floor with Tooth following. Bunny used the traditional ladder on the pole at the end of the rope, seeing as he couldn't fly. They chatted about each others' performance softly until they got into the back, then started speaking more loudly. "Almost thought I was gonna fall when we were doin' that flip," Bunny commented, looking terrified but smiling gently anyways. It was the thrill, always the thrill that kept them going, the knowledge they could fall to their deaths at any moment.

"Well, we would have caught you," Tooth replied. They sat down by a table and snacked on honey roasted peanuts and drank water. Shortly afterwards North (the ringleader and/or strongman) walked in and bear-hugged all of his friends at once. 

"Good performance, everyone!" he said cheerfully with a thick Russian accent. 

"Uh- North- don't suffocate..." Tooth said, barely breathing. 

North smiled as simply hugged them tighter with his heavily tattooed arms. Jack, Bunny, and Tooth gasped for air, barely noticing Sandy and Pitch walking in. They conversed lightly, probably talking about each others' act. "It was brilliant, Sandy, but I was thinking fireworks at the end would be an excellent flair," Pitch said in his cool British accent. The Sandman nodded and held a thumb up. 

"Pitch- save us-" Jack gasped. His boyfriend smiled crookedly and leaned against the doorway. Sandy gave North a look. He sighed and let go of his friends, who gasped loudly and dramatically for air. "Wow, thanks for nothing, Pitch," Jack said sarcastically as he stood. In mere seconds, one of Pitch's long arms was wrapped around his waist, the other holding his chin up between his thumb and index finger. 

Softly and seductively, in a way that made Jack blush like a glowing tomato, Pitch said, "You know I would never let you get hurt, don't you?”

Jack looked away and muttered something about how he already knew that, his face getting redder by the second. His friends snickered in the corner and looked away as they snacked and refueled their energy. "Oy, stop gobbling everything up!" Bunny agitatedly snapped at North. The Russian smirked and popped a handful of blueberries in his mouth. And considering he had huge hands, that was a lot. His friends groaned and instead reached for a large pack of cookies. 

Pitch and Jack sat down at the rounded table as well, the Boogeyman resting his hat at the corner of his chair. North's face fell gently. "You do know we're losing foot traffic." 

The mood sorrowed immediately, conversations coming to a stop. Of course they were all aware. How could they not be? Before, Tooth reflected with a longing look in her eyes, the crowds used to be full to the brim, and tickets sold out every night. Then it slowly reduced until only four or five people came to watch, and some days even none. They were never sure why, but had a rule- never, ever talk about how business started declining when Jack came. He was plenty good, of course, but always pushed himself to be more like his fellow acrobats, to be "better," as he called it. Of course they always assured him he was at the same level, even higher than them, but he didn't listen. 

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Jack asked gently. He looked down with a strange look in his eyes. It took the others a little bit to start functioning properly and reply.

Pitch replied, "Of course not." Jack looked up somewhat hopefully. "The world has simply outgrown the circus. Now they have movies and televisions and-" he shook his head and sighed. "They're marvelous inventions, of course, but they're nothing compared to us." The man pulled Jack in and kissed his forehead gently. "It's not you, love," 

A little but not entirely convinced, Jack smiled lightly. Then North said, "We have two options." The circus performers raised their eyebrows but let him continue. "One, we can move to a different part of the state. Been thinking about Los Angeles, Orlando, big cities." 

Pause. "And option two?" Tooth asked gently. 

North sighed. For a second, he looked as old as he really was, hundreds of years of age on his face. "We sell the circus." 

"We can't," Bunny said immediately. The others nodded and looked at North. 

"We may not have a choice," the ringleader replied. They all looked down. "Get some sleep. We'll need it tomorrow," he advised. The others muttered something in agreement and stood up, walking to their rooms. Jack placed his head down on the table. 

"Love?" Pitch asked gently, placing a hand on his back. 

Jack sighed. "I... I don't know." He stood. "I'm going to go to bed. 'Night." 

"I'll go with you, I'm a little tired myself." They went to their room and thought they could fall asleep, but physically could not. But eventually, they'd both drifted asleep, if only to get an hour of rest before the day started.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were spent packing everything up. North’s mind was set- they had to leave for another part of the country. Eventually he managed to buy some land in Burgess, a little town in Pennsylvania. It was a bit far from their home in Oregon, but nobody could change North’s mind when he had already decided on something. They traveled by truck, the drive taking about a week. On the last few days everybody was longing to get out, especially Bunny, Jack, and Tooth, the most active of the bunch. They began doing acrobatic tricks whenever they could in random gas stations, restaurants, etc. Most people, to Pitch’s annoyance and North’s excitement, often watched in awe and sometimes recorded.

Eventually, they made it to Burgess and set up somewhere close to the road. North had a few hundred fliers printed out and instructed Jack, Tooth, and Bunny to go hand them out. Even do a few stunts. In the meantime, he, Pitch, and Sandy helped set up, North using his strongman skills and Pitch and Sandy using their powers. It didn’t take long with the three of them working. 

“Do you think this will work?” Pitch asked them gently, putting up the tightrope that Jack had so oftenly walked across. Black and golden sand pushed it into place, screwing it into the floor for stability. He pursed his lips, wishing they’d had a net, but the acrobats insisted on going without a net underneath them. Then again, Tooth and Jack could fly, and either they or he and Sandy would be able to catch Bunny if he fell. 

North replied, trying to sound confident but a bit of desperation peeking out, “I do.” Sandy gave him a questioning look. The strongman sighed and put down the pole he was holding gently. Pitch used his magic to screw it into the floor. “I hope it will.”

Outside of the circus tent, Tooth, Bunny, and Jack flipped and flew around as they stapled and glued posters to trees, electricity lines, fences, etc. They attracted many wondering stares, and some even applauded when Jack did a few particularly complicated tricks.  _ Please, _ he thought as he bowed to the clapping crowd,  _ anybody can walk on their hands _ . They still had about fifty posters by the time they’d finished with town, so the three of them decided to ask store managers to put posters in their windows.

The first five were successful. One of them, who looked like he was drunk, kicked them out. Bunny grumbled and said something around reporting him to the police. However, the next place they went to, a little library that they were told was the most popular in town, was definitely better. At the front was a teenage boy, around Jack’s age, whose eyes brightened the moment his eyes rested on their colorful costumes (or, in Tooth and Bunny’s case, feathers and fur). “May I help you?” he asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“Hi, we were wondering if we could put one of our posters in the front?” Jack asked, smiling at him.

The teen replied, “Oh, hang on, I’ll get Maggie for that.” He smiled back and walked out from behind the counter and into the numerous shelves the library contained, each lined with books. 

A few seconds later, the boy came back with a nice looking woman who had dark brown eyes and hair, clearly of Asian descent. “Hello, you three. How may I help you?” she asked, getting behind the counter with the teen. Jack really needed to learn his name. 

He flashed her a smile and replied, “We were wondering if we could put a poster for our circus by the door.”

“A circus! Dang, it’s been years since we’ve had one of those here,” Maggie commented, obviously excited. “We’ll take ten, so we can distribute them around the library. 

Tooth pitched in, “We could help, if you want!

The librarian smiled and said, “That could be excellent. It’s a small town, so we’re a little short-staffed. Jamie, would you like to help them?” She addressed the boy, who Jack then assumed was Jamie. He nodded with a bright spark in his eyes. 

The four placed roughly ten posters around the library, on walls by reading areas, around doors, on notice doors, and by the front desk. Jamie was an excellent helper who asked many questions as they worked. “What do you guys do? Are there any other members in your circus?” he asked, a bright twinkle much like North’s in his eyes.

“Well, the three of us are acrobats. We have Sandy, who does magic tricks like nothing ever before, our strongman and ringleader, North, and our psychic, Pitch, whose tarot cards will read your doom!” Jack replied dramatically. Then, in a casual tone he added, “Who is also my boyfriend.

Jamie froze. “Uh, yeah, I wouldn’t.. mention that to.. anyone else.”

“Why not?” Jack replied, reloading his stapler with ever nimble fingers.

The teen struggled for a few moments. “People around here aren’t… the friendliest to those types of people. Well, except most of the kids at my school.” He paused. “And my sister.”

“How old is your sister?” Tooth asked, smoothing a poster on the wall and stapling it into place.

“Twelve, but she’s thirteen next month. Seventh grade. I’m sixteen, so I’m a junior. But seriously, be careful. Last guy in the-“ he lowered his voice so only they could hear- “LGBTQ+ community got beaten up so bad we thought for sure he was dead.”

Bunny’s mouth tightened. “Was he okay?”

Jamie, to their relief, shook his head. “But he left the minute they let him out. Lucky,” he said somewhat bitterly. “I’d love to leave, but I can’t leave my sister. Sofie, by the way.” He paused. “Religion here is so… in-your-face it’s shocking it’s just us kids who are sick of it.”

“Hear, hear,” Tooth replied, making a face. “I used to live in India.”

“Oh, yeah, the Caste System, right?” Jamie replied, also making a face. 

“Yep. My family and I were in the Untouchables. Eventually, I got sick of it, so I left. Legally, which took a lot of work, money, tears, time, and sweat, but better than fearing the government more than I have to. Anyways, now I’m here,” Tooth said, a small smile on her face. 

“That’s amazing,” Jamie replied. The two chatted for a while, while Jack had a few mixed feelings. He was a bit nervous. He knew second-hand (Pitch had told him a few stories) that some people, especially people who were serious as hell about their religion, would do brutal things to those who “went against their beliefs.” He was worried for himself and Pitch, and wondered how Tooth, Sandy, Bunny, and North would be affected by this.

Apparently Bunny noticed because he said, “You okay, mate?”

Jack sighed and put down his stapler. “I’m.. a little scared,” he admitted. 

“Don’t be.” Jack looked up. “We got your back, Jack. We’ll fight ‘em off,” the Pooka said, determination shining through his Australian accent. His friend smiled.

“Well, Sandy, Tooth, and North will. Don’t know about you,” Jack teased. 

Bunny snorted. “I mean, someone’s gotta cover your weak ass.” They shared muffled laughter, trying not to disturb those in the library.

About thirty minutes later, the three acrobats walked back to the circus tent, which had been entirely put up by then. They walked inside, chatting about how they thought it was going to go. “Dunno, mate, we may not see much difference,” Bunny said somewhat anxiously. 

“You never know! Besides, it seems like the kids around here haven’t seen much excitement in a while. They may want to come!” Tooth replied with her usual positivity. 

To the side, Jack was barely paying attention to the conversation. He was still thinking about Pitch and himself, worried of what would happen. Would they have to split up for the meantime? Keep everything a secret, only showing affection for each other during the night (they were too busy practicing and having shows during the day). 

“Jack, Tooth, Bunny! How did it go?” North asked, smiling at them anxiously.

While Tooth excitedly told North about Jamie and Maggie, Jack pulled Pitch to the side. “We have to talk,” he said quietly. 

Pitch raised an eyebrow but replied, in a similar tone, “What is it?” He placed his hands on Jack’s pale cheeks, silver/golden eyes peering deep into brilliantly blue ones. 

Jack paused. He wasn’t sure how to explain to him. “Well… er… this… we…” He cringed, thinking about how he sounded like an idiot. “We have to be careful.”

“Why?”

“This town-“ Jack gestured to the outside wildly- “isn’t too… friendly to people like us.” 

Pitch’s face darkened. They both knew that his past with his sexuality wasn’t the best. Pitch had been alive for thousands of years, and had met millions of people. He’d been worse than verbally tormented for being bi.

Was Pitch scared? A little, yes. People driven by hate could do very, very powerful things. But he sucked up his fear and gave Jack a small kiss. “We’re going to be fine, love,” he said, pushing a few stray hairs back behind Jack’s ear. The winter spirit smiled gently and leaned into the touch. 

“Jack, Pitch, are you alright?” North asked. They whipped their heads around to see the other four staring at them.

Jack flushed and replied, “We’re alright.” The others shared knowing smirks but let it go (make a reference and I will kill you). At that point it was about seven, so the six of them headed to the back for food. They shared a pot of soup and a loaf of bread. The mood in the room was happy but still a little tense with worry. Everybody knew the next day was ticket-selling day, one of the most nerve-racking days in circus history. Sooner or later, everybody split up to go to bed and get some rest. Hopefully they could sell all of their tickets, or at least half. 


	3. Chapter 3

When the next day came, Jack and Tooth began selling tickets at about two in the afternoon. They at first waited, Sandy making small animals out of Dreamland prance around their heads (Tooth’s was a hummingbird, as always, Jack’s a fox) when Jamie, Sofie, and a large group of other teenagers walked towards them. The three sat up, Jack readying the tickets.

“Hi, how may I help you today?” Tooth asked politely.

Jamie smiled. “Hi, Tooth. Could we have… let’s see, six children’s tickets and four adult ones?” 

Jack tore off tickets and did some mental math (not very hard, adult tickets were $15 each, children’s were $10) and handed them the tickets. Jamie gave him a stack of bills, which he counted quickly, confirming that it was the correct price. “Have a good day!” he said, smiling. Jamie gave him a quick smile back, and he and his group of friends left. 

About half an hour later, Maggie and what looked like her mother and possible sister came as well. They asked for an extra ticket, so Jack assumed there was another member of their family. Foot traffic, he had to admit, was pretty good. They’d sold about thirty tickets by the time Pitch and Sandy took over. 

At the end of the day, about sixty tickets were sold. All six of them were very excited about the next day, their first act. To the side of the kitchen, Sandy and Pitch nervously worked on the magic element of their act, mainly consisting of golden and dark, nightmare-ish animals. Eventually they went into the ring to practice bigger animals like horses, which wouldn’t fit inside of the little kitchen.

Jack, Tooth, and Bunny, who always enjoyed watching Sandy and Pitch’s shows, walked into the ring to watch. He smiled gently as he watched a few large elephants made of golden sand with dark saddles, bridles, and accessories run around the ring, eventually jumping through small hoops by shrinking in size. The two watched with complete concentration, then changed the elephants into horses. This time they were Nightmares, demon horses with golden saddles, bridles, and accessories. 

“Do you three want to try that thing out?” Pitch asked, eyes never leaving his Nightmares. They nodded and quickly got onto the trapeze’s platforms. At first it was nothing special, Bunny and Jack swinging on the trapeze bars, Bunny hanging on with his knees, Jack with his hands, and then Jack waited until he swung close enough to Bunny, let go, rotated himself, and grabbed his hands. Paws? Then they swung for a bit and Jack rewinded his steps so he was back to holding the bar again. At the edge of the platform he stopped, hanging onto the edge with his feet. Tooth helped him get on and took his place quickly. “Luck,” Jack said, smiling. She gave him a quick wink and flew. 

Jack watched in half awe, half boredom as Tooth swung, rotated her body on the trapeze, slid her legs through her arms, then let go and held on to Buunny’s hands. Then she swung to the platform and then slid her back leg between the bar and her body to form an upside-down split, then let go to grab Bunny’s hands again. He let go of one of her hands to grasp her opposite ankle before letting Tooth go. She grabbed onto the empty trapeze bar and swung back to Jack, who took her place again. 

And this continued for some three minutes, each time something different, every act getting more complicated by the second. Then came Jack went, simply swinging to Bunny and holding his hands, but suddenly dropped when he reached the lowest point of their swing. He got himself in an upright position, spread his legs just right, and waited. Right when Jack was about to fall, a Nightmare materialized right below him. They rode around the ring once.

Jack quickly flipped around his entire body on the horse, then readied himself. He squatted on the horse, finally standing when he found the courage. He beamed at an imaginary crowd, something they were all used to by now. The Nightmare, named Rya, rode around the track at break-neck speed, and Jack did a backflip, landing backwards on Rya. He faced himself the right direction and fake-feigned until his body was on Rya’s, the only thing holding onto her being his bended knee. Finally, he sat himself upright and Rya ran backstage, Tooth and Bunny waving to an imaginary crowd and following. The three acrobats were done.

They walked out immediately afterwards to congratulate Pitch and Sandy. The five chatted for a while, then went into the kitchen to eat. Their shows may have only lasted eight or ten minutes at a time, but they were exhausting. 

The next day ended the same way. The crowd loved them, eating up every one of their acts and tricks and cheering and applauding at exactly the right times. It ended with a bang, gold and black fireworks erupting inside of the circus tent, though not even halfway as loud as the crowd cheering for them. At the back of the tent, the six of them ate chips and various candies happily, speaking of their success. But North warned them not to get too excited- it was only the first week, after all. Whether the decision was a good one or not would be proved in the next month. 

Well, Jack admitted, after a week or so, it was working out pretty well. The ring was usually packed right after schools ended and on the weekend, and North was happy to report that they had finally begun the final stages of paying off their bills. They all cheered and applauded for each other as well as themselves after North announced this, tension finally beginning to release themselves off of their shoulders. 

Though Jack had to admit he missed being able to go on dates with Pitch in town, sipping cheap coffees that tasted like shit and commenting on them together, but still drinking them. He wished he could at least hold Pitch’s hand when they were getting groceries together. But they had to be careful, or everything they worked for would go tumbling down. For the moment, their love was constricted to the thin fabric walls of the circus tent they called home.  _ But in that sense, _ Jack thought, _ it also seemed like a prison. _

No, that wasn’t right. The circus wasn’t the prison- not when it was the safest place to be. But if the people were jailers and the outside was the place that felt most like prison, then the circus was the safe house. Jack once spoke about this with Pitch, his voice soft as they cuddled together under a thin blanket. Pitch patiently listened as Jack poured his thought out to him, gently trying to help him fill the gaps of his words. 

Jack sighed. “Thanks for listening to all of this… crap,” he said, gently laughing.

Pitch gave him a small peck on his chilly head. “It’s what I signed up for.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. This is where that violence I warned you about is. Please be careful and proceed with caution while reading <3

A few weeks later, business was going well. Jamie often came to watch shows on Sundays after church, usually accompanied with Sofie and a few of his friends. Nobody seemed to have known that Pitch and Jack were together, though they had a few close calls. Sometimes their hands brushed together for far too long in public, and once Jack had almost given Pitch a kiss while people were watching (though to his credit, he didn’t know they were there until Pitch told him later). Thankfully, Pitch was able to brush it off with expert acting skills by saying something about how he should stop drinking and taking him inside, grumbling under his breath. 

At least, he thought Pitch had managed to play it off. He started the day by practicing with the others for their next show, and decided to head to the bakery alone at about eight. Since it was getting darker, Pitch was a little worried, but Jack assured him it would be fine. After all, it was a small town without any thieves, rapists, or muggers. He would be fine. 

He wished. Jack hadn’t even reached the bakery when he was suddenly surrounded by a group of older men in the middle of the street. “Gentlemen,” he said, quickly trying to mimic Pitch’s cool aura. 

One of them, apparently the leader, replied, “We don’t want your kind in our town.”

Jack internally panicked, but tried to keep it together. “My kind?”

Another man next to him spat on the floor. “You disgusting fags.”

Oh, no. This would not end well. But before Jack could think about what to do, then men were on him like a pack of rabid, hungry wolves. He froze in panic and even though Jack’s mind was yelling at him to move, it refused to send his body the messages that told them to start going. One of them punched his ribs so hard Jack heard one of them go. 

Fully awakened, the winter spirit froze the ground underneath him. The men began slipping and falling, but as Jack tried to fly away, one of them grabbed his ankle. Jack looked back and tried to pull his leg free, but the man was too stubborn to let go. The others shakily stood and attempted to help him. Jack grunted in pain and effort but kept on trying to escape them. However, when one of them pulled at his leg very sharply, Jack came tumbling down.

The men wasted no time and began beating Jack down to a pulp, using fists, feet, legs, arms, even balding foreheads. Though Jack tried to think of how to get out of the situation, his brain was too busy processing the pain. Eventually Jack succumbed to his fate, each second feeling like an hour, sharp pains racking through his body. At some point in time he vaguely remembered trying to use magic to escape, but at that point he was too weak.

What felt like days later, Jack felt his consciousness slipping. He was too tired to stay awake at that point, with multiple bones broken and his entire body aching.  _ Damn, I wish Pitch were here, _ Jack thought absentmindedly, before sleep finally took him. 

Jack woke up in a bright and nearly completely white room. He felt groggy and sore, but otherwise fine. He frowned slightly as his vision began to swirl, but eventually came into focus. The spirit turned his white head and saw Tooth, Bunny, and Pitch sitting and sleeping in chairs.  _ How late is it? _ he thought groggily. Jack turned his head again and then tried to look down and see what had come as a result of the fight.

A broken arm was all he could see- a thick, white blanket covered his body, and he didn’t have the energy to lift it. He looked around a little bit more and suddenly felt drowsy and tired again. The winter spirit sighed and allowed himself to fall asleep again. 

What seemed like seconds later he woke up again. This time it was still day- he had a little window he didn’t notice before, and the bright blue sky laced with clouds blared in his face. Jack looked around but noticed nothing else new. He wondered what had happened to the men who had decided to beat him up. Were they in jail? In court, facing trial? Or running around free since the government was fucked up? 

Jack looked down on his arm. It was still in a cast, but this one seemed newer than the last one. Was his probably drugged mind fooling him or had they changed the cast while he was sleeping? He shook his head slightly and wondered if he should alert the nurses. Jack knew a fair bit about hospitals, and knew there was a panic button for the nurses. Should he press it? Let them know he was awake?

Then he began to wonder if he was in a Burgess hospital or if the others had headed Jamie’s words and went to a different one outside of town. Jack sighed, tried to sit himself up a little, and looked around for the panic button. It was located right next to his bed, which was nice. He pressed it without much other thought and waited. 

The nurses arrived just five seconds later. They seemed overjoyed to see Jack awake and smiling at them. “Hello, Mr. Frost. Are you feeling better?” one of them asked. They had lightly tanned skin, dark brown eyes, and completely black hair.

Jack shrugged. “Not sure exactly what ‘better’ is supposed to be, given that I was beaten to a pulp.” He laughed a little bit, then asked, “How long was I asleep?”

“About ten days,” the nurse replied. 

Jack mentally groaned. “And the damage?”

“A deflated lung, a broken arm, two or three broken ribs, a light concussion, around ten to twenty bruises and fourteen small cuts that fixed themselves up in two or three days,” they relayed. “As of now everything is alright except for your arm; we were just waiting for you to wake up. The arm will heal in-“

“About six to eight weeks. Five to seven now,” Jack replied. He smiled at the nurse’s slight shock. “I’m an acrobat; I know what it’s like to have a broken arm.” He sat himself up a little more. 

The nurse smiled, recovering from their shock, and nodded. “Would you like us to call your friends?”

Jack nodded. “That would be great, thanks.” 


End file.
